As the critical dimensions for semiconductor devices continue to shrink, there is an increased need for semiconductor process equipment that can uniformly process semiconductor substrates. One instance of where this need may arise is in controlling the temperature of a substrate disposed in a process chamber.
An electrostatic chuck within a processing chamber generally retains a substrate in a stationary position. While the substrate is held by an electrostatic chuck, various processes are applied to the substrate to, for example, deposit or remove material from the surface of the substrate. Variation in temperature across the substrate surface may cause nonuniform deposition or removal of material. Such nonuniformity can result in the fabrication of semiconductor devices that operate sub-optimally or do not operate at all.
Thus, the inventors have provided methods and apparatus for controlling temperature of a substrate during processing.